Women's Bikes

A Look at Trek’s Road to Women’s Specific Design

A conversation with Heather Henderson of Trek Bicycle Corp.

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The WSD team carefully analyzes who is buying bikes and what kind of riding those customers intend to do. “A woman who is going to spend $8,000 for a high-end carbon-fiber bike tends to fit a certain athletic profile, and we can make certain assumptions about her and her athleticism,” Henderson says. Accordingly, Trek rolled out its top-level women’s road bike in the more aggressive H2 fit.

Trek's Lush: The dropped top tube gives female riders more clearance.

Interestingly, the traditional women’s H3 fit has proven popular among male riders. “Last year we started offering that fit to men—there are a lot of people who don’t want to be aggressive on their road bikes,” she explains. The growing popularity of charity rides and travel tours, for instance, brought about more interest in road bikes that are more ridable and less aggressive. There are, after all, those who want the speed and efficiency of a road bike but who have no ambition to ever race.

“But regardless of gender, you have to figure out what fits you; the more bikes there are,” Henderson says, “the more likely you are to find the right fit.”

As for color choices in women’s bikes, it’s not always easy deciding which hues will work best. Some women want their bike and accessories to have a very feminine look, while others would not be caught within 100 meters of a pink bike. “I regularly get both hate mail about pink and love mail about pink,” Henderson says, “like, ‘How dare you assume I like pink because I’m a woman!’

"You just can’t win that one,” she says.

Trek says it has seen an increase in the number of women getting into cycling, and it believes the wider selection of bikes and accessories for female cyclists likely accounts for some of that growth, in addition to a steady rise in cycling-related events for women.

The Neko is designed for the road but has a suspension fork and wide tires for light off-road riding.

Henderson says that, ultimately, her job is all about creating options for women. “We certainly don’t subscribe to the idea that every woman needs a women’s bike. Every woman needs a bike that fits. We’d really like to get you in the sport, and we want to take away anything that might keep you from the sport.”

Adds Henderson, “It’s also the ultimate anti-aging device. You can take vitamins and Botox or go for a ride.”